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Biography information for Ben Lake

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<p>The Attorney General’s ‘Review of the efficiency and effectiveness of disclosure
in the criminal justice system’, published in November 2018, highlighted the need
for early engagement. The Review includes recommendations on pre-charge engagement
and proportionate frontloading to ensure there is a better balance between streamlining
work and performing disclosure obligations early. This National Disclosure Improvement
Plan, which contains commitments made by the CPS, NPCC and College of Policing, also
highlights the importance of engagement between the prosecution and the defence.</p>

To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary
of State for the Home Department on failures relating to the disclosure of evidence
in criminal cases and police culture.

<p>The Attorney General and I engage frequently with the Home Office, and issues relating
to disclosure remain of paramount importance to us. Extensive action is underway to
bring about the necessary cultural change within the CPS and policing, and we are
clear that this is a collaborative effort. In June the Minister for Policing and I
will be co-chairing a Tech Summit, in order to address the increasing amount of digital
material involved in the disclosure process.</p><p /><p />

To ask the Attorney General, if he will make an estimate of the number of cases that
have collapsed before going to trial due to private forensic firms having been found
not to have followed correct procedures as referred to in the 2017 Annual Report of
the Forensic Science Regulator, published in January 2018.

<p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number
of cases that have collapsed before going to trial due to the failure of private forensic
firms to follow the correct procedures.</p><p>The CPS continues to work with the Home
Office, police and the office of the Forensic Science Regulator to assess the impact
of issues relating to Randox Testing Services, on completed and ongoing cases, to
ensure that appropriate action is taken.</p>

<p>No Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Attorney General’s
Office (AGO), or Government Legal Department (GLD) advertised job roles in 2016 and
2017 included a declaration box for candidates to declare a criminal record.</p><p>HMCPSI
had one new recruitment in each of these years. The tick box was included in the campaign
in 2016, but was removed in 2017.</p>

<p>The application process for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Serious Fraud
Office (SFO), Government Legal Department (GLD), Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and
HMCPSI does not include a declaration box for candidates to declare a criminal record.</p>

<p>Following consultation with the Government Property Agency who now manage the Cabinet
Office estate, I can confirm that none of the locations referred to in the above question
are owned or managed by Cabinet Office.</p><p> </p><p>The civil service is going through
a fundamental transformation in the way that we work and deliver services, not least
through advances in technology. The future civil service will be more efficient, more
highly skilled and agile.</p><p> </p><p>We are working with departments to deliver
our commitments within the Government Estates Strategy and to ensure that we make
the best use of our Government Estate assets, including the office estates. We have
a particular commitment to consider locations outside of London as identified through
our Places for Growth programme.</p><p> </p>

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made
of the UK’s compliance with Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union on the right to vote in the recent EU parliamentary elections.

<p>Legislation has been in place since 1994 which ensures that the UK is in compliance
with<br>its European Union obligations regarding EU citizens’ right to vote in European<br>Parliamentary
elections whilst resident in the UK</p><p>The Government took all the legal steps
necessary to prepare for the European<br>Parliamentary elections and put in place
all the legislative and funding elements to enable<br>Returning Officers to make their
preparations required for the polls.</p>

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance was issued to the Government
by the Electoral Commission on the time required to ensure (a) EU citizens living
in the UK and (b) UK citizens living in the EU would be able to vote in the EU parliamentary
elections; and on what date his Department received that advice.

<p>Government officials worked closely with Returning Officers and the Electoral Commission
and other agencies such as the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)
and the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) to support the smooth running
of the polls on 23 May.</p><p> </p><p>Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are under
a statutory duty to ensure people who are eligible to vote in elections have the opportunity
to do so. For the recent European Parliamentary elections that included making sure
relevant citizens of the EU who are resident in the UK and registered to vote in local
elections were made aware they needed to complete a voter registration and declaration
form (commonly referred to as a UC1 or EC6 form) in order to enable them to vote.</p><p>
</p><p>On 5 April, the Electoral Commission published guidance for local returning
officers and EROs on the upcoming European parliamentary elections. This guidance
reminded EROs to prepare and issue UC1 forms to EU citizens on the electoral register.
It also encouraged EROs to agree plans and timings for postal vote despatch, including
plans on how to prioritise the despatch of overseas votes. Overseas voters include
UK eligible citizens living in the EU.</p><p> </p>

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department made of
the capacity of local authorities to ensure EU citizens living in the UK were able
to vote in the UK at the recent EU parliamentary elections.

<p>Registration for elections is a matter for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
The<br>Electoral Commission provides guidance and advice to EROs and is responsible
for<br>monitoring their performance.</p><p>The Electoral Commission supported EROs
in the discharge of this function. It issued guidance on<br>the 4th April which recommended
that EROs should identify EU citizens who are on the local<br>government register
and send them a declaration form and supporting information explaining how<br>they
can declare their intent to vote in these elections in the UK should they wish to.</p><p>The
Government worked with local authority elections staff<br>including EROs and Returning
Officers and with the Electoral Commission and other<br>agencies such as the Society
of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the<br>Association of Electoral Administrators
(AEA) to support the smooth running of the polls.</p>